Report: Job placements and wage growth slowed in September

The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs shows the number of people placed in permanent employment picked up “only slightly from August’s four month low” and growth was “modest and among the slowest recorded over the past two-and-a-half years”

The number of people placed in permanent or temporary jobs rose in September, though growth was well below the average seen over the past two-and-a-half years, a report suggests.

The latest Bank of Scotland Report on Jobs, compiled from responses taken from around 100 recruitment agencies, shows while there was strong growth in demand for permanent staff, a lack of available candidates meant there was only a modest rise in permanent placements.

The report shows the number of people placed in permanent employment by recruitment firms in Scotland had picked up “only slightly from August’s four month low” and growth was “modest and among the slowest recorded over the past two-and-a-half years”.

In Scotland, blue collar was the only sector of eight listed to record a contraction in permanent vacancies, and the sharpest increase was in IT and computing.

The rate of growth for temporary and contract staff in Scotland “remained solid” during September though largely on a par with figures recorded the prior two months.

On the pay front, both permanent salaries and hourly wages for temp staff rose at slower rates and starting salaries for permanent staff “slowed for the fourth time in the past five months” with September figures the weakest since August 2013.

The Bank of Scotland Labour Market Barometer for September - a composite indicator designed to provide a single-figure snapshot of labour market conditions - rose to 56.6 in September, up from 56.2 in August but still the second lowest score since May 2013.

Donald MacRae, chief economist at Bank of Scotland, said: “The number of people appointed to both permanent and temporary jobs rose in September although at a reduced rate compared to last year.